Lasting machine with improved wiper action



R. B. DUNLAP June 23, 1959 LASTING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED WIPER ACTIONFiled Sept. 20, 1957 I 4 Sheets-Sheet l Mveafior Eoeri a I]? (175% aJune 23, 1959 R. B. DUNLAP ,2

LAsTING' MACHINE WITH IMPROVED wIPER ACTION Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4Sheets-Sheet 2 June 23, 1959 R. B. DUNLAP LAS'IING MACHINE WITH IMPROVEDWIPER ACTION Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States PatentLASTING MACHINE WITH ILIPROVED WIPER ACTION Robert B. Dunlap, Medway,Mass, *assignor to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass.

Application September 20, 1957, Serial No. 685,202

18 Claims. (Cl. 12-12.4)

This invention relates to shoe machines and especially to toe lastingmachines.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a machine inwhich, prior to lasting, the wipers may be brought into concentricitywith the toe of the last, so as to have substantially continuousengagement with the shoulder of the last around the entire toe, toprovide a machine in which the wipers may be brought into the aforesaidposition of concentricity automatically and without damaging the uppermaterial, to provide a machine in which the longitudinal position of thetoe and its concentricity with respect to the wipers may be selected toobtain the best possible uniformity of lasting and fixed at this placeindependently of the eccentricity of the heel end of the last, and toprovide a machine in which the heel end of the last is clamped followingthe fixing of the .toe .at whatever position of eccentricity it occupiesindependently of the toe end and without modifying the position of thetoe. Other objects are to provide a machine in which the foregoingoptimum position of the last with respect to the wipers can be obtainedautomatically, after which the wiping action can be manually controlledindependently of the automation.

In the illustrated machine there is means mounting the 'wipers and asupport for a last for relative movement to bring the wipers and lastinto engagement and means for effecting the aforesaid relative movement.In accordance with the invention the wiper mounting means is yieldablerearwardly when the pressure between the wipers .and the last reaches apredetermined amount, to cause .the wipers to adjust themselves tosubstantially the entire contour of the toe end of the last at theshoulder. The support includes a toe rest upon which the toe of the last'is placed with its bottom side up adjacent the wipers and toe and heelclamp members movable successively into engagement with the toe andheel. There is power operablemeans and electrical means for initiatingoperation :thereof, for effecting movement of the wipers, support andclamping means in a sequence to bring the toe clamp down into engagementwith the toe to clamp it against :the support, to move the heel clampforwardly into enfgagement with the heel end of the last and lock it inposition, to bring the wipers and shoe into engagement and to lock thewipers in their rearwardly displaced operative position and finally torestore the control of'the power operated means to a manually operablehandle so that lasting can be effected while the shoe is locked in posi-"tion. The heel clamp is laterally movable as it is advanced intoengagement with the heel end of the shoe to r accommodate itself to theeccentricity of the last at the *heel end so as not to twist the shoe.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of the machine with the lowerpart of the base omitted;

Fig. 2 is a plan view as seen from the top of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation as seen from the right-hand side of Fig. 1partly in section;

2,891,265 Patented June 23, 1959 ice Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontalsection taken on theline44ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section t ken on the line 6-6 of Fig.3;

Fig. 7 is a plan view to much larger scale of the wipers in relation tothe shoe prior to being brought into close conformity therewith;

Fig. 8 is a corresponding view showing the position of the wipers afterthey have been brought into conformity with the shoe;

gig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the pressure system; an

.Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical system.

The machine herein illustrated (Fig. 1 and 2), which is of the kindshown in Patent No. 2,668,967, granted February 16, 1954, in the name ofJ. S. Kamborian, has a hollow support or base 10 and cap 12 whichprovides a sup.- port for a horizontally arranged slide 14. The forwardend of the slide 14 rests upon a wiper support 16 (Figs. 7 and 8),which, for example, may be a Web integral with the cap 12. The wipersupport is provided with a smoothly finished upper surface forming aguide for a pair of wiper actuators 18 and 20 (Figs. 7 and 8), whoseundersurfaces are shaped to provide guideways for a pair of wipers 22and 2,4. The forward end of the slide 14 has pivotally connected to itthe rear ends of links 26 and 28 which extend forwardly beneath thewiper actuators and are pivotally connected thereto at their forwardends. The wiper actuators are provided with slotsof proper shape toimpart the desired wiping smoothness to the wipers, and movement of theactuators is effected through w pe t ken P 1? these aforesaid links byreciprocation of the slide 14,.

The wipers 22 and 24 are removably connected to their actuators and arefurnished in pairs of a given size which are adapted to be suitable foroperating upon several shoe sizes without change. In other words, onepair of wipers may be used for shoes ranging from size 4 to size 8 andare so designed as to approximate the contour of all of the shoes inthis range. It is obvious, however, that this is but an approximationand that the closeness of the fit becomes less and less accurate as theends of the range are approached. Compensation for this departure is, ofcourse, to some extent provided for by longitudinal adjustments of theshoe, however, because of the screw devices currently used for adjustingthe longitudinal position of the shoe with reference to the wipers it isdiflicult and time consuming to make the adjustments with any degree ofsatisfaction; hence most operators will not make the adjustment. As willappear hereinafter, one of the features of the invention is to effectthis adjustment automatically.

The slide 14 is actuated to advance and retract the wipers as morespecifically described in the pending appli cation of Thomas'AIWeisi,SerialNo. 563,270, filed February 3, 1956, by a bellcrank'lever 30'pivoted at 32to the base, one arm of which is connected byia link, 3j4 tothe rear end of the slide and the other arm of whichis connected by apin 36 to a rod 38 extending from afluid motor 40 pivotally mounted atthe inside of the base on a bracket 42. Admission of the motivatingfluid to the motor 40 to advance and retract the wipers is controlled bya valve which in turn is manually shifted by a hand lever 44 extendinghorizontally from the left-hand side of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the machine shown in the pending application the cap 12 is bolted tothe top of the base. In contrast thereto, the cap in the instant machineis mounted for limited horizontal movement relative to the top of thebase on pairs of links 45-4S and 46-46, pivotally connected at theirupper ends to the cap and at their lower ends to the frame. The requiredmovement of the cap is in the order of one-quarter A) of an inch and thelength of the links are such that while the cap actually moves on an areabout the lower centers of rotation of the links, the verticaldisplacement is less than ten thousandths (0.001) of an inch and hencemay be ignored. By this construction the wipers are movable forwardlyand rearwardly relative to the cap, as previously described, and arealso movable with the cap forwardly and rearwardly withreference to thebase. Normally, the cap is yieldany held in its forward position by aplunger 43 extending from an air cylinder 50 mounted on a bracket 52fastened to the base at the rear of the cap. The plunger 48 bears on aplate 54 fastened to a rearwardly extending block 56 on the cap 12.Forward movement of the cap is limited by a stop.

At the front of the machine, Figs. 1 and 3, there is a carriage 58mounted in laterally spaced, vertically extending' ways 6060 6n the basefor vertical movement with reference to the wipers. To facilitatevertical movement (if the carriage it is provided with antifrictionrollers 61 at its lateral edges which are engaged Within the Ways. Thecarriage has a rearwardly extending, vertically disposed sleeve 76 whichembraces a rod 68 and is held there between collars so that moving therod 68 vertically the carriage 'may be elevated and lowered. The rod 68is mounted on the base with its lower end connected to a fluid motor 70and is supported for vertical movement by a bearing 72. The fluid motor70 is supplied with a motivating fluid by way of a valve which is alsocontrolled by the hand lever 44 as is the valve for the fluid motor 40in the same way as the wipers and carriage are actuated in the aforesaidpending application. Briefly the arrangement is such that pushing andpulling movement applied in a horizontal plane to the hand lever 44retract and advance the wipers in a horizontal plane and rotation of thehand lever about its longitudinal axis in counterclockwise an'dclockwise directions respectively, lower the carriage and raise it withreference to the wipers.

The carriage (Figs. 1 and 3) mounts a toe support 62 for a last, a toeclamp 64 cooperable with the support to clamp the toe of the lastthereto, and a heel clamp 66, the details of which will now bedescribed.

The toe support is at the upper end of the rod 68 and is constituted bya U-shaped bracket 78 between the laterally spaced arms of "which isfastened a flexible element 80 in the form of a length of link chaincovered "with a piece of soft material such as leather or fabric,

"to form a cradle for receiving the top side of the toe of are invertedlast, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to support the last bottom side up ina'position to be operated upon by the wipers. Since the toe support 62is fast "to the rod 68 it will be elevated simultaneously with thecarriage 58. r The carriage '58 has laterally spaced, forwardly extend-1 ng, vertically disposed tracks 82--82 within which is slidably mountedan auxiliary carriage 86, to the forward face of which are welded orotherwise fastened laterally 'spaced,'vertically extending legs 88-88 ofan inverted t l-shaped "clamp support 90, the upper closed end of whichis situated above the "toe support 62 and has "fastened to itsundersidethe 'toe'clamip "64. The auxiliary carriage 86 has at its lower end aboss 92 to which is secured the upper 'end of a rod 94-, the lower endof which is connected to a piston, not shown, within a cylinder 96. Thelower end of the cylinder 96 is bolted or otherwisefastened to a block97, welded to the carr1age-58, and by suppl'ying fluid'thereto, as willbe described hereinafter, provides means for effecting vertical:moveinent'of the auxiliary carriage on the carriage 58 and hen'cetheclamp64 with reference to the toe sup- 'port'62.

The heel support is mounted on a pair of vertically have welded theretovertically spaced sleeves 9S98, adapted to be supported on verticallyspaced pins 190 fast to the carriage 56, so as to swingably support theplates for movement about a vertical axis parallel to the rod 68. Theplates 102-102 have welded to their upper edges a cap N3 which slopesforwardly and downwardly and contains inclined tracks 104 on which thereis slidably mounted a block 106, to the rear end of which are fixedlaterally spaced posts 108-103 containing arcuate slots i1(l-110. Theheel clamp 66 is mounted between posts itl8-ltl8 for movement along theslots 1ltl*1lltl upon laterally and oppositely extending screw bolts112ll2 which are engaged within the slots and which may be locked at anygiven heightwise position by means of thumb screws lit-4.14. The forwardend of the block 106 is connected to a rod 116 extending from a cylinder118 to which fluid may be supplied to retract or advance the block alongits track and hence to advance the clamp 66 into engagement with theheel end of the last or toretract it therefrom. Since the plates 102 aremounted for pivotal movement about the vertical axes of the pins 160, asthe heel clamp 66 is brought into engagement with the heel end of thelast, the plates 162 will swing laterally to accommodate the heel clampto the eccentricity of the heel.

At the lower part of the carriage 53 there is fastened a forwardlyextending, arcuate-shaped brake plate 120 having a radius of curvaturecorresponding to the radius of swing of the plates 102. The plates haveat their lower parts grooves l22-l22 into which the forward edge of thearcuate plate extends. An eccentric 124 (Fig. l) is pivotally mounted onone of the plates 102 so as to have contact with the brake plate 120 andby rotation about its axis frictionally to lock the plates 1W2 withrespect to the brake plate 120, thereby to lock the angular position ofthe heel clamp. The eccentric 124 is moved into and out of lockingposition by an arm 1% pivotally connected to a rod 128 which extendsfrom a cylinder 130 bolted to the bracket plate 102. A spring 134 on therod operates to hold the latter extended so that the ecentric is innon-locking position.

A corresponding locking eccentric 136 is mounted on the bracket arm 52for locking the cap in a given rearwardly displaced position. Operationof the eccentric is effected through an arm 138 pivotally secured to arod 140 operating in a cylinder 142, the latter being fastened to theframe of the machine. Braking is eifected by a brake plate 143 pivotallyfastened to the block 56 which is forced into frictional contact with abrake shoe 145 fastened to the bracket 52.

Referring now to Figs. 7, i8, 9 .and 10, the sequence of events will bedescribed with reference to a lasting operation. As earlier pointed outthe fluid motors 4i) and 70 are controlled through the intermediary ofvalves by a common hand lever 44 and by pushing and pulling on the leverthe wipers may be advanced rearwardly and forwardly with reference tothe support for the last and by rotating it in counterclockwise andclockwise directions the support for the last may be lowered and raisedwith reference to the plane of movement of the wipers. Thefluid motor 40foreffecting movement of the wipers .is shown in Fig. 9, together withthe servo-valve 14.4,

which iscontrolled bythe aforesaid handle and operable thereby to permitfluid to be supplied-to the motor 413. The motor 70 and its valveareornittedsince they operate in thesamefashion as described in theaforesaid pending application and are not directly involved-inthesuccession of events which takes place automatically herein. To startwith, however, the wipers .22 and 24 are retracted to their full extentby pushing the handle 44 rearwardly and the toe support is elevated byrotating the handle 44 in a clockwisedirectionso that the toe support 62is .at sucha level with respect to the wipers :that when the toe of a.last :is placed on the support, bottom up, with the upperassembledthereon,- the plane of the bottom of the last will be substantiallyinthe plane of the wipers and the tip of the toe will be withinapproximately a quarter of an inch of the wiper edges. The operatorplaces the shoe in position so that its center line is substantiallysymmetrical with respect to the wipers and the bottom substantiallyhorizontal. While thus holding the shoe the operator moves a switchlever 146 (Fig. from contact 148 to 150. This de-energizes the solenoid147 and opens the self-venting valve 149 so that the lower end of thecylinder 96 and the upper end of the cylinder 118 are vented. At thesame tirne current is supplied by way of a conductor 152 to the solenoid154 of an air valve 156. The air valve 156 supplies air from a source158 through a conductor 160 to the upper end of the cylinder 96 whichlowers the toe clamp 64 into engagement with the bottom of the last atthe toe so as to clamp the toe rigidly in place against the toe support62. A pressure operated switch 162 is connected to the cylinder 96 by abranch conductor 164 and when the pressure within the cylinder 96reaches a predetermined amount it is closed so as to supply currentthrough conductors 166 and 168 to the solenoid 170 of an air valve 172.Operation of the air valve 172 supplies air from the source 158 througha conductor 174 to the lower end of the cylinder 118 so as to advancethe heel clamp supporting posts 108-408 rearwardly to bring the heelclamp 66 into engagement with the heel end of the last. As previouslyexplained, as the heel clamp comes into en gagement with the heel itssupporting plate 102102 will swing laterally in one direction or theother about the vertical axis of the pins 100 so as to accommodate theheel clamp to the eccentricity of the heel with reference to the toe. Itis to be observed, of course, that plates 102102 must be manuallypositioned so as to roughly approximate the position of the heel beforethe operation is started, so that as the heel clamp is advanced it willbe certain to contact the heel end of the shoe, although not necessarilyexactly centered thereon. A pressure operated switch 176 is connected tothe cylinder 118 and this is closed when the pressure in cylinder 118reaches a predetermined amount to supply current through conductors 180,182, a normally closed switch 184 and a conductor 186 to two solenoids188 and 190. The solenoid 190 operates an air valve 192 so as to deliverair from the source 158 through a conductor 194 to the rear end of themotor 40. This automatically advances the wipers independently of theposition of the servovalve 144. This is accomplished without affectingthe position of the servo-valve and without causing it to move by asecond air valve 196 which is operated by the solenoid 188 to exhaustair from the forward end of the motor 40. Referring to Fig. 7, as thewipers. are automatically advanced toward the toe of the last, fixed aspreviously explained so that its bottom is substantially on a level withthe wipers and clamped there by the toe and heel clamps, the leadingedges of the wiper blades come into contact with the last substantiallyat its shoulder and because of the design of the wipers, as previouslyexplained, will in most instances fail to conform exactly to the contourof the last so that as shown, for example, in Fig. 7, the edges of thewipers may have contact with a tip of the last but diverge increasinglyas they extend rearwardly. As the wipers advance into engagement withthe toe of the last and the pressure increases, the wiper support 16begins to yield rearwardly, displacing the plunger 48 rearwardly withinthe cylinder 50, and as the support yields rearwardly the wipers aredisplaced rearwardly, but at the same time are swung inwardly by theirguide plates so as to conform closely to the contour of the last asshown in Fig. 8. The wiper support is held in its forward position bythe plunger 48 which yields as full pressure is applied to the wipers byreason of the fact that the cylinder 50 is supplied with less than fullair pressure through a regulating valve 51.

A rearward movement of approximately one quarter A) of an inch maximumsufiices to insure adjusting the wipers so as to closely fit the contourof the last in any given range of sizes for which the Wipers have beendesigned. As the wipers move into close conformity with the last, and asthe pressure increases, a pressure operated switch 198 connected byconductors 200 and 202 to the opposite ends of the motor 40 is operatedby a pressure differential of a predetermined amount to supply currentthrough conductors 204 and 206 to two solenoids 208 and 210. Thesolenoid 208 opens the normally closed switch 184 so as to de-energizethe solenoids 188 and 190 which cut off the supply of air to the motor40 and closes the exhaust. This returns the control of the motor 40 tothe position of the servo-valve 144 and of the hand lever 44. At thesame time the solenoid 210 closes a normally open switch 212 and this,through a conductor 214, supplies current to a solenoid 216 whichoperates an air valve 218, which supplies air through a conductor 220and conductors 222 and 224 respectively, to the cylinders 142 and 130.Supplying air to the cylinder 142 actuates the eccentric 136 in adirection to swing the brake lever 143 hard against the brake band so asto fix the position of the wiper mount 12 in the position shown in Fig.8. Simultaneously, supplying air to the cylinder 130 rotates eccentric124 into engagement with the brake plate 120 so as to lock the angularposition of the bracket plate 102 and hence of the heel clamp 66. Withthe last supported and locked in position, the head locked in a positionin which the wipers conform to the contour of the last and the controlof the apparatus. restored to the hand lever 44, the operator may nowlower the support with reference to the wipers so as to produce theheightwise stressing desired and advance the wipers forwardly over thebottom so as to wipe the lasting margin inwardly against the bottom. Inaccordance with usual practice these manipulations are carried outseveral times in order to work the upper over the shoulder of the lastand to lay it down in place to attain the best possible snugness aboutthe toe. Having attained satisfactory lasting the operator grasps thelast at the waist and flips the switch arm 146 from the contact over tothe contact 148. This de-energizes the solenoids 154 and so that theirrespective valves 156 and 172 supply air to the opposite ends of themotors 96 and 118, thereby retracting the heel clamp and raising the toeclamp so that the shoe may be removed. Simultaneously, the solenoids 208and 210 are de-energized so that the normally open switch 184 is closedand the switch 212 is opened, thereby deenergizing the solenoid 216which in turn opens the air valve 218 and releases the cylinders 130 and142 so as to unlock the head and the support. The apparatus is nowrestored to its normal position in readiness for the next operation.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the support and wipers forrelative movement to bring the wipers and last into engagemennsaidwipers being designed progressively to close as the wipers and last movetogether, so as to be capable of accommodating themselves to shoes ofdiiferent sizes, and power operated means for efiecting said relativemovement of the wipers and last into engagement, said wiper supportbeing rearwardly displaceable when the pressure between the wipers andthe last reaches a predetermined amount to cause the wipers to adjustthemselves to the toe: by such rearward displacement.

2. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a' last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support forrelative movement to bring the wipers and the last into engagement, saidwipers being designed progressively to close during said relativemovement so as initially to conform to the curvature of the toe end ofthe last, power operated means efiecting said relative movement, saidwiper support being rearwardly displaceable when the pressure betweenthe wipers and the last reaches a predetermined maximum, to a positionin which the wipers adjust themselves to the contour of the last andmeans for locking the wiper support at said rearwardly displacedposition.

3. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support forrelative movement to bring the wipers and the last into engagement, saidwipers being designed progressively to close during said relativemovement so as initially to conform to the curvature of the toe end ofthe last, power operated means for 'efiecting said relative movement,said wiper support being rearwardly displaceable relative to the wiperswhen the pressure between the wipers and the shoe reaches apredetermined maximum, means operable at said predetermined pressure tolock the wiper support at said rearwardly displaced position and othermeans operable at that pressure to disconnect the Wipers from said poweroperated means.

4. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, a support with a last for an upperassembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support for relativemovement to a position in which the wipers are wide open to a positionin which they are closed, said wipers being designed progressively toclose during said relative movement so as to conform closely to thecurvature of shoes of different sizes according to the amount of saidmovement, manually controlled power operated means for effecting saidrelative movement, means for actuating said power operated meansindependently of the manual control, automatically to effect saidrelative movement to bring the wipers and toe of the shoe intoengagement, said wiper support being rearwardly displaceable relative tothe wipers when the pressure between the wipers and the shoe reaches apredetermined maximum, means operated at said pressure to lock the wipersupport at said rearwardly displaced position and other means operableat that pressure to restore the power operated means to the manualcontrol.

5. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and thesupport forrelative movement, said wipers being designed progressively to close asthey are moved relative to the shoe so as to be capable of conformingclosely to the contour of shoes of different size according to thedegree of their displacement, power operated means automaticallyoperable for effecting relative movement, and means operable when thepressure between the wipers and shoe reaches a predetermined maximum tofix the position of one of the relatively movable parts and todisconnect said power operated means.

6. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and support forrelative movement to efiect engagement therebetween, said wipers beingdesigned progressively to close as they are displaced relative to theshoe to be capable of conforming closely to the contour of shoes ofdifferent size according to the degree of displacement, power operatedmeans automatically operable for effecting relative movement, meansoperable when the pressure between the wipers and the shoe reaches apredetermined maximum to fix the support and to permit rearwarddisplacement of the wipers relative to the shoe, and other meansoperable at that pressure to disconnect, the power operated means.

7. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and the support forrelative movement to effect engagement therebetween, said wipers beingdesigned progressively to close as they are moved relative to thesupport to accommodate themselves to different size shoes, manuallycontrolled power operated means for'eifecting said relative movement,means operable to disconnect said manual control and to cause said poweroperated means to eiiect said relative movement, means operable when thepressure between the shoe and the wipers reach a predetermined amount tofix the position of the shoe and to permit the wiper support to yield,and other means operable to restore the manual control to said pressureoperated means.

8. In a toe lasting machine, wipers and a support for a last with anupper assembled thereon, means mounting the wipers and the support forrelative movement to efiect engagement therebetween, said supportincluding toe and heel clamping elements movable relative to thesupport, power operated means for eliecting movement of the toe clamp tobring it into engagement with the toe, power operated means foreffecting movement of the heel clamp to bring it into engagement withthe heel and means operable when the pressure of the toe clamp reaches apredetermined amount to initiate operation of the power operated meansfor effecting movement of the heel clamp, said heel clamp beingunconstrained laterally so as to adjust itself to the position of theheel regardless of the eccentricity of the heel with respect to thecenter line of the toe.

9. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, means for clamping the toe of thelast with an upper assembled thereon in a position to be operated upon.by the wipers, a heel clamp, means mounting the heel clamp for movementlengthwise of the last and swinging movement about an axis substantiallyperpendicular to the wipers in directions laterally of the last, andpower operated means for effecting movement of the heel clamp lengthwiseof the last to bring it into engagement with the heel end thereof, saidheel clamp being laterally displaceable about its axis by theeccentricity of the heel end of the last, so as to accommodate itself tothe center line of the heel and means for locking the heel clamp. in itsforward and laterally displaced position,

10. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, means for clamping the toe of thelast with an upper assembled thereon in a position to be operated uponby the wipers, means mounting a heel clamp for movement lengthwise ofthe last and movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to thewipers in directions laterally of the last, power operated means foreffecting movement of the heel clamp lengthwise of the last to bring itinto engagement with the heel end thereof, said heel clamp beinglaterally displaceable about its axis by contact with the heel end ofthe last as it is brought into engagement therewith, locking means forfixing the lateral position of the heel clamp after it is engaged withthe heel and means operable when the pressure between the heel clamp andthe last reaches a predetermined amount to effect operation of saidlocking means.

11. In a toe lasting machine, wipers, means for supporting the toe ofthe last with an upper assembled thereon in a position to be operatedupon by the wipers, means mounting a toe clamp for movement intoengagement with the toe to clamp it against said support, power operatedmeans effecting movement of the toe clamp, means mounting a heel clampfor movement lengthwise of the last into engagement with the heel endand laterally of the last to take up a position corresponding to theeccentricity of theheel, power operated means for efiecting lengthwisemovement of the heel clamp, means controlling operation of the poweroperated means to cause the toe clamp to clamp the toe first and then tobring the heel clamp into clamping position, and means operable to lockthe heel clamp at its heel engaging position when the pressure reaches apredetermined amount.

12. In a toe lasting machine, means mounting wipers and last supportingand clamping means for relative movement to eflfect wiping an upper onthe last about the toe, power operated means for effecting such relativemovement, said power operated means being controlled by a manuallymovable lever, said last supporting and clamping means comprising a toesupport, a toe clamp and a heel clamp, power operated means for movingthe toe clamp into engagement with the toe to clamp it against the toesupport, power operated means for moving the heel clamp lengthwise ofthe last to bring it into engagement with the heel, said heel clampbeing laterally swingable by engagement with the heel end of the last asit is brought into engagement therewith to take up the lateraleccentricity of the heel with respect to the toe, means for locking theheel clamp in position, and means for rendering the manual control ofthe power operated means inefiective and initiating automatic operationof the power operated means sequentially to bring the toe clamp intoengagement with the toe, the heel clamp into engagement with the heeland to efiect operation of said locking means.

13. A toe lasting machine according to claim 12, Wherein said last-namedmeans is operable to restore the control of the power operated means tosaid manual lever after effecting operation of said locking means.

14. In a toe lasting machine, means mounting wipers and last supportingand clamping means for relative movement in directions parallel to andperpendicular to the bottom of the last to efiect wiping an upper on thelast about the toe, power operated means for effecting such relativemovement, said power operated means being controlled by a manuallymovable lever, said wiper mounting being yieldable under a predeterminedpressure lengthwise of the last, said last supporting and clamping meanscomprising a toe support, a toe clamp movable substantiallyperpendicular to the bottom into engagement with the toe and a heelclamp movable lengthwise of the last into engagement with the heel andlaterally to accommodate itself to the eccentricity of the heel, poweroperable means for effecting movement of the toe clamp, power operablemeans for effecting movement of the heel clamp, control means operableto initiate operation of the power operated means for the toe and heelclamps sequentially, to render the manual control of the power operatedmeans for effecting relative movement of the wiper and supportinoperative and automatically to efilect such relative movement to bringthe wipers and the toe into engagement, said wipers being designed bytheir relative position to fit snugly about the toe of a shoe, and beingdisplaceable when the pressure between them and the end of the shoereaches a predetermined amount to yield to the contour of the toe,locking means operable when the pressure between the wipers and the lastreaches a predetermined amount to lock the position of the wiper supportand the heel clamp, said control means being operable at said pressureto restore control of the manual lever to the first-named power operatedmeans.

15. In a toe lasting machine, a support for a last, wipers, a movablesupport for the Wipers, said wiper support being movable a limitedamount toward and from the support for the last, means supporting thewipers on the movable wiper support for movement toward and away fromthe support for the last, means yieldably holding the wiper support inits forward position and means for advancing the wipers on the wipersupport into engagement with the last, said yieldable means permittingthe wiper support to yield rearwardly when the forward pressure of thewipers against the last reaches a predetermined amount.

16. In a toe lasting machine, a support for a last, wipers, a movablesupport for the wipers on which the wipers are movable, pneumatic meansfor holding the wiper support in its forward position and for advancingthe wipers relative to the wiper support into engagement with thesupported last, means for supplying pressure to said pneumatic means,and means for maintaining the pressure supplied to the pneumatic meansfor holding the wiper support in its forward position at a lower levelthan that which is supplied to the pneumatic means for advancing thewipers into engagement with the last.

17. In a toe lasting machine, a support for a last, wipers and wipermounting means, said wiper mounting means and Wipers being movablerelative to the last support and to each other, yieldable means normallyholding the wiper mounting means advanced toward the last support andmeans for advancing the wipers on the wiper mounting means intoengagement with the last, said last-named means being designed toovercome the yieldable means sufficiently to efiect rearwarddisplacement of the wiper mounting means and means for supporting thewipers on the wiper mounting means for movement in the plane of the lastbottom lengthwise of the shoe and laterally toward each other to closethe wipers in proportion to their relative movement lengthwise of theshoe, said relative movement being continued after the wipers have beenbrought into engagement with the toe of the last when the pressurebetween the wipers and last reaches a predetermined amount by rearwardyielding movement of the wiper mounting means.

18. In a toe lasting machine a relatively fixed support for a last,wiper mounting means movable relative to the support for the last,yieldable means normally holding the wiper mounting means advancedltoward the last support, wipers mounted on the wiper mounting means formovement from a normally wide open position at the forward position ofthe mounting means, forwardly relative to the wiper mounting means to apartially closed position determined by their contact with the toe ofthe last, and means for efiecting movement of the wipers on the wipermounting means, said yieldable means permitting rearward movement of thewiper mounting means relative to the wipers after they engage the last,when the pressure between the wipers and the last reaches apredetermined amount to efiect further closing of the wipers relative tothe last without further forward movement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,019,125 Brock Mar. 5, 1912 1,077,938 McLeely Nov. 4, 1913 1,692,284Baxter Nov. 20, 1928 2,733,460 MacDonald Feb. 7, 1956 2,774,086 BurbyDec. 18, 1956

